[.ca] On A Beam Of Light (ISBN 0312982089)

The Return of Prot!:
I was a bit skeptical when I started to read this book. I thought it might be just a sloppy sequal. Fortunately, I was proved wrong. In fact, it fits right in with the first book, K-PAX. The story takes place 5 years after the original book, when Prot returns home. All the main characters are back, along with some interesting new ones at the hospital. Like the last book, this novel leaves you wondering whether or not Prot really was who he said he was, or just a dillusionary effect of multiple personality disorder. In my opinion, the first book is more convincing that Prot is human, but in this one he seems more alien. Either way, this is a great book that continues the exciting story of Prot from K-PAX.

The Psychological Mystery with the Sci-Fi Twist Continues...:
=====> This sequel (first published in 2001) to the previous popular novel K-PAX (1995), both authored by Gene Brewer, consists again of sixteen chapters (or "sessions") and has as well a prologue and epilogue. (There is no short glossay as in the previous novel.) The prot-agonist of this story who calls himself "Prot" (pronounced pr-OAT) "returns" (after a five year absence) from the utopian planet K-PAX (that, according to the previous novel, is in the constellation Lyra) to enter the mind of the catatonic earthling-patient called "Robert Porter" (whose identity was discovered at the end of the previous novel). The setting of this sequel is in the same institution as in the previous novel. Prot is treated by the same psychiatrist of the previous novel, Dr. Gene Brewer. (Note that the doctor has the same name as the author.) The entire book again is mainly about the interaction and relationship that develops between Prot and Dr. Brewer. However, now there is much more interaction between Dr. Brewer and Robert Porter (who is called "Rob"). The previous novel had Prot with much wit, wisdom, and humor. Prot does not seem to have as much of this in this sequel because more focus is on Rob. However, Prot's wit and wisdom shine through and he gives interesting social commentary when he appears on a television talk show. Here are three examples of what Prot says when he was on that show: (1) "Why not try living without wars, religion...and the rest for a decade or two? If you don't like it you can always go back to hatred and killing." (2) "What kind of world \oon Earth\c is it where violence and war are not only accepted, but your youth are encouraged to practice them? Where your leaders must be constantly guarded against assassination, and airline travellers frisked for weapons? Where every vial of aspirin must be protected against poisoning? Where some of your beings make fortunes \oplaying\c games while others are starving? Where no one believes a single word your governments or your corporations say?" (3) "Hunting is no sport, it is cold-blooded murder. If you can outwrestle a bear or chase down a rabbit, then you can consider yourself a true sportsman." Prot still demonstrates certain outworldly abilities and even some of his medical tests are strange. Thus, both Dr. Brewer and the reader are not sure weather Prot is indeed an extraterrestrial or a traumatized human being suffering from "multiple personality disorder." In this sequel, there is more interest in Rob and the other institutionalized patients. (The reader is introduced to many new and interesting patients.) Prot still has a positive influence on the other patients thus again giving this sequel a certain warmth. (He even has a positive influence on animals.) Through the character of Dr. Brewer, the author reveals and explains certain psychological concepts. Suspense is created when Prot reveals that he is going back to K-PAX for good but this time he does not tell Dr. Brewer the date and time of his "departure." As well, Prot says that this time he will not bring just one (as in the previous novel) but one hundred of his fellow patients with him back to his utopian world. By the end, most questions posed in this sequel are answered. However, some are not. In other words, this sequel as in the previous novel ends on an ambiguous note. (Some readers may not find the ending ambiguous.) In fact, the last sentence of this sequel is said by Dr. Brewer and reads as follows: "I still go out at night and look up at the sky, toward the constellation Lyra. And I still wonder..." Can this sequel be read without reading the previous novel? Yes it is possible. But I would not recommend it. Even though the author Brewer rehashes some of the story from the previous novel in the sequel's prologue and first few chapters, I found that he missed some crucial and interesting information that was needed to fully understand all the finer nuances in this sequel. This sequel is the second novel in a trilogy. The first novel, as mentioned, was entitled "K-PAX" while the third novel is entitled "K-PAX III: The Worlds of Prot." In conclusion, this is a good sequel that will hold your attention to the end. As in the first novel, Prot's story will teach the reader about himself/herself!! <=====>

S/F, religious parable, psychological tale - who is prot?:
I've seen the movie "K-PAX" and read the book the film was based on, and now I've read the sequel, "On a Beam of Light". And with all that, I'm still not sure who or what prot actually is. That question only gets more confusing with this sequel about one of the most fascinating literary characters I've ever come across. My review of "K-PAX" basically described it as a sort of 21st-century religious parable. But having read "Beam" I'm not so sure anymore. Prot's character still shows some religious undertones, but there are some definite science fiction-related mysteries that Brewer poses about him - and you can tell that he's having a lot of fun posing them. For example, there are at least two instances I can recall in "Beam" where prot somehow crosses from one side of a room to the other in the space of less than a second. To quote him, it's done with mirrors. An old magician's saying, to be sure - but in prot's case I have to wonder. Then there is the comparison of prot's blood workup with that of his "host" (?), Robert Porter. That, plus some other incidents and statements throughout this book, will leave you shaking your head in amazement, wonder, and curiosity. Just who or what is prot? As in "K-PAX", Brewer portrays himself as the psychiatrist who "treats" prot, and also as in "K-PAX" he maintains that prot is merely an alternate personality of Robert Porter. But he's hard-pressed to retain that belief considering some of the things prot does, or causes to happen. Brewer's descriptions of the other patients are fascinating on their own, as are most of the other characters in "Beam" - but prot is the main character here, as well as the catalyst for changes in most of the other people he encounters, both inside and outside the hospital. There's supposed to be a third book about prot, and I look forward to reading it. Perhaps Brewer will answer some of the mysteries he's posed about prot - but I seriously doubt it.

Riding The Beam of Light from K-PAX:
Wow! Where do I start? How do I start? Now, we all know sequels can be trouble, right? So, I had the same preconceptions when approaching "On a Beam of Light," the sequel to the cult smash and now adapted for the silver screen: "K-PAX." I was wrong in having these preconceptions, the book was wonderful. It did go through some, at times confusing, twists and turns. This brings together much of the cast from the original book. In the wake of the departure of "prot" (rhymes with goat), Dr. Gene Brewer is left the catatonic "Robert" to treat. Five years to the day, after "prot" left, he has returned and brought Robert out of his state of catatonia. After Dr. Brewer published "K-PAX," the news of "prot's" return has traveled quickly. "prot" is a star of sorts. All the while the media and scientific blitz surrounds "prot," Dr. Brewer is trying to get at the reason Robert has been catatonic. That is all I will say about the plot as to avoid spoiling a wonderful story. This book is brilliant. I am now anxiously awaiting the delivery of the third and final book to my doorstep. The story and the character interaction in rather amazing, I was actually sad to see the book end. It was that good. I am sorry to say that I do not think this could be well adapted to a script as a sequel to the K-PAX movie. The one minorly important role, removed from the first K-PAX movie, plays a rather imperative part in the sequel. . .bummer. . .Oh well, it is a good read. Buy it, it is wonderful epc

Prot (Mr. Hyde) is not hidden!:
This book helps complete the story begun in K-PAX, but the narrator is becoming too wooden and predictable - much like the skeptical characters one finds in THE X-FILES. Having a foil to the phenomena on hand can seem plausible only so long. Nevertheless, the story is great fun, and one must hand it to Dr. Gene Brewer for his skill at interweaving psychology and science-fiction in an odd and entertaining fashion that never delves into the bathic, but keeps the reader thirsting for more contact with the protagonist - whoever he may be.